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Never The Same ephemera collection

 Collection
Identifier: Midwest-MS-NTS

Scope and Content of the Collection

Ephemera collected by Never The Same from Chicago’s social and political art communities and from throughout the United States. Materials include brochures, fliers, postcards, books, journals, artwork, zines, CDs, and DVDs. Oversize materials primarily include newspapers, artwork, journals, posters, maps, and three dimensional artifacts. Most items are described at the item level with a serial number assigned by Never The Same. The collection represents a wide variety of subjects, events, organizations, and individuals. Related items, including duplicates, can be found throughout the collection. Materials are sometimes grouped by donor, subject, or event.

Dates

  • Creation: 1968-2014

Creator

Language

Materials are primarily in English, Spanish, and Thai.

Conditions Governing Access

The Never The Same ephemera collection is open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Never The Same ephemera collection is the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at reference@newberry.org.

History of Never The Same

Never the Same (NTS) is an archival project dealing with socially and politically engaged art in Chicago since the 1960s organized by Northwestern University Professor Rebecca Zorach and AREAChicago (Art/Research/Education/Activism) founder Daniel Tucker. The goal of this project is to document Chicago’s rich art history and develop a language for discussing the impact of socially and politically engaged art practices that integrates consideration of external with internal transformation and effects.

The project was launched in the Fall of 2010 with a roundtable discussion about archiving Chicago art held at the Experimental Station. In Fall 2011 and Fall 2012, NTS conducted interviews with Chicago artists and organizers and shared on the NTS website, never-the-same.org, along with the city-wide interview project “5 Questions About Socially Engaged Art in Chicago.” In 2013 NTS expanded ongoing efforts of archiving ephemera and interviewing, as well as developing public programs. NTS hosted informal events called “unfurlings” for people to activate the material of the archive.

Extent

53 Linear Feet (18 boxes, 8 oversize boxes, 4 oversize folders, 3 shelves of items, 2 oversize items)

Abstract

Ephemera collected by Never The Same, a project begun by Northwestern University Professor Rebecca Zorach and Daniel Tucker, founder of AREAChicago. Never The Same collects items documenting socially and politically engaged art in Chicago since the 1960s. Collection consists of brochures, fliers, postcards, pamphlets, posters, artwork, books, journals, CDs, DVDs, and 3-dimensional artifacts emanating from a wide variety of sources, both individual and organizational.

Organization

Collection is organized in the following series:

Series 1: Numbered Materials, 1968-2013
Boxes 1-13
Series 2: Alphabetical Materials, 1974-2014
Boxes 14-17
Series 3: Oversize Numbered Materials, 1993-2013
Oversize Boxes 1-5
Series 4: Oversize Alphabetical Materials, 1969-2014, bulk 2003-2014
Oversize Boxes 5-8
Series 5: Oversize Plus Materials, 2001-2013
Flat File Folders 1-4
Series 6: Artifacts, 2010-2013, undated
Items 1-5

Collection Stack Location

1 48 4-5, 1 43 4, 1 45, 4a flat file

Provenance

Gift, Never The Same, 2015.

Processed by

Skyla S. Hearn, Mariana Brandman, Catherine Grandgeorge, 2013-2019

Subject

Title
Inventory of the Never The Same ephemera collection, 1968-2014
Status
Completed
Author
Catherine Grandgeorge
Date
©2019.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512